History

Councilor Robert "Bob" Manning OAM (born 1945) is the mayor of the Cairns Regional Council.In 2004 Manning was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for "service to the community of the Cairns region through the development and promotion of the tourism, maritime and aviation industries".In 2002 he was awarded Cairns Citizen of the Year.

David Hudson was born in the early 1960s.He is a proud descendant of the Ewamian and Western Yalanji peoples of the Cairns region.He is a cultural consultant, artist and world famous didgeridoo performer.Hudson finished at Cairns High in 1979, then he attended a teachers' college and was qualified as a recreation officer.His children also attended Cairns SHS.

Edna Taylor turns 100 years young in 2017. She will be the oldest former student to join in the celebrations of the school’s history and as such has a special place in our year’s events.She has lived in Cairns her entire life.Her father drove the steam engines and rail motors along the now 125-year-old Cairns-Kuranda route. On her 99th birthday she took a train trip with her family. She said at the time that her father's favourite spot along the railway soon became known as Forward's Lookout, and before long the name was officiated.